Athough not considered to be all that nutritious, sunflower pollen was associated with a reduction in varroa mites over colonies fed patties in one study. The reduction was by a factor of 2.75 and increased with an increase in the total area of sunflowers planted.This indicates two possibilities. The first is there may be a beneficial effect on varroa loads inherent in Sunflower pollen. The second is pollen patties (substitute) are grossly deficient when compared to natural food sources. I would recommend planting some sunflowers though. Not only do they bloom during the dearth of summer, but the bees do appear to be quite fond of them. The irony is that field bees have lost their ability to digest pollen. Their bodies no longer produce the digestive enzymes to metabolize protein.
